A huge congratulations to Year 12 student Xanthe Robb who placed 4th in both rounds at her first international mountain biking event!

Sixteen year old Xanthe started entering more serious mountain biking competitions from around the age of thirteen. Her first national event was the Secondary Schools Championships in Wellington in Year 9. Since then, Xanthe has competed in numerous events and gained a number of medals and top placings. Her recent 2nd placing at the Enduro MTB National Championships at Cable Bay, was what qualified her to enter the 2023 Enduro World Series, this year held in Tasmania, Australia. 

Tasmania has become a very popular region for mountain biking competitions with an ever growing purpose built trail network through the region's pristine rainforest. The first round of the Enduro World Series was held at Maydena Bike Park over 25-26 March, and the second round was held in the former tin mining town of Derby from 1-2 April.

Xanthe's results from the two rounds are below:

Round 1, Derby, Tasmania:

Female Under-21: Xanthe Robb (NZL) at 1:46.48, 4th.

Round 2, Maydena Tasmania:

Female Under-21: Xanthe Robb (NZL) at 1:45.19, 4th.

In her second round, Xanthe almost placed second but a flat tire in the last stage dropped her back into 4th again. 

When asked how she found competing internationally, Xanthe replied, "International racing was pretty thrilling and I'm hungry for more. Currently I'm figuring out whether I can commit to a full season of racing in Europe next year. This depends a little bit on my academic success this year as I want to keep my career options open," she said.

Xanthe's current goals are to race as much as she can while she's still U21, to make connections, and to just enjoy being a part of the biking community. "

"If I continue to progress and love it as much as I do now, then potentially [I will] aim to race professionally in the future or make another career out of biking," she said. 

As well as riding regularly, Xanthe does strength and bike specific cardio sessions in the gym as part of her training for big competitions. There are no more international events this year however, Xanthe says she will be racing as much as she can locally and around the country. Depending on her schoolwork and funds, she's hoping to race a full season next year.

Congratulations again Xanthe and we wish you all the best for your future competitions and career goals!